Sexiled
by henriettaline
Summary: "You see that sock on the door? That means I have a man in my bed, so you need to go somewhere else. It's protocol." AU College Finchel. When freshman theater arts major Rachel Berry is forced to move into the dorms partway through fall semester, she gets a promiscuous roommate who keeps kicking her out for the night, but she also meets a cute guy who lives down the hall.
1. Chapter 1

_Author's Note:  
So... I'm slowly getting back on the fanfic horse. I'm not sure about the eventual fate of "Knight to Queen Square"; I had originally planned it as a July-August blitz to get it done before S5 would give the official version of the reunion that we're now not going to get. And I can't immerse myself so deeply again, it's too painful. But I do have a story to tell, and I don't want to walk away from all the inspiration that Cory's portrayal of Finn has given me, so... we'll see. For now, here's the start of a much lighter AU fic that I've had on the drawing board for over a year._

_Much love to Cory, Lea, and Finchelites everywhere. – Henrietta Line _

* * *

_Disclaimer: I do not own Glee or any of its characters that I have co-opted for this fic, or Wright State University (fictionalized to add a football program)._

_"__Don't Stop Believin'" was written by Jonathan Cain, Steve Perry and Neal Schon._

* * *

_Just a small town girl, livin' in a lonely world  
She took the midnight train going anywhere..._

Finn Hudson, backup quarterback for the WSU Raiders, sang softly along to his iPod as he waited for the McKinley Hall dorm elevator. It was early, and he needed the music to get his heart rate up in preparation for his morning run, a regular part of his training regimen. Sprints today. The rest of the dorm floor seemed asleep, his teammates mostly getting a later start due to having later classes, though his roommate Mike was already on his way to the swimming pool.

It was quiet, as was usual this early – until another voice joined in.

_Just a city boy, born and raised in South Detroit  
He took the midnight train going anywhere_

Finn started, surprised at the interruption, and he turned to look for the voice. A young woman's voice, beautiful. He looked over at the furniture in the floor lounge nearby, and saw a pair of dark brown eyes looking back at him, from the face of a small dark-haired girl.

"You have a nice voice," she said, which wasn't something he was used to hearing.

"Ah... thanks," he answered, mostly by reflex. "So do you." Which she really did, at least what he'd heard despite his headphones. The girl was lying on one of the couches, wearing a long sleeved shirt and with a blanket over her; it looked like she'd spent the night in the lounge. Which wasn't safe, especially not for a small girl like her, and anyway the lounge was supposed to be cleared out at night. "You really shouldn't be here though," he said, uncertain. "You can't just hang around like this, you should have gone home." But she didn't look like a football groupie, not that there were all that many but there were some, and some that wouldn't take no for an answer. She looked too good to be one of them though, she looked too real.

She laughed then, sounding sort of bitter, which was unexpected and didn't seem to suit her. She seemed nice otherwise, but guarded. "I'd be more than happy to have slept in my own bed for the night."

"Uh..." he moved a little closer. She seemed to have gotten ready for bed, sleep-shirt, pillows, blanket – and those were the dorm ones, too. "Even if you're stuck, you can't do this. We can get away with guests in the rooms, but not out here." Had she been stuck when someone had her over and kicked her out late? He hoped she wasn't an ex-one-night-stand of a teammate, she looked way too nice for that.

She sat up, giving him a small pout, cute but not deliberately so, and sighed. "I'm not a guest," she answered wearily. "This is as close to where I'm supposed to be that I can get."

Finn was puzzled. He knew everyone on the floor, many of them had been here the previous year too, and anyway this was a jock floor, with the football players down the guys' hall and the cheerleaders down the girls'. Except –

"Oh, you're Santana's new roommate," he said, the light dawning. He wouldn't normally be able to make any kind of connection between the sweet girl in front of him and Santana's description of the "ugly little shemale who dresses like an eight-year-old," but Santana insulted everybody except her best friend Brittany. And the new girl would be the only one he hadn't met. Santana had gotten rid of her old roommate a couple of weeks ago, she had been furious to get a replacement, and rumor had it that the girl was too scared of Santana to be around when she didn't have to be.

"Only sometimes."

Finn chuckled at her apt comment, which at least didn't sound like she was anywhere near as scared as Santana had been claiming. Santana always made sure she got her space, though, which presumably was why she didn't room with Brittany. "Yeah, well, that's how she got rid of the last girl. She basically pretended she didn't have a roommate and soon enough it came true." He shook his head. "She was really pissed when a week later she was told she had a new one."

"I can tell."

"So she's been sexiling you, huh." This was also a safe guess, Santana often had guys over, she was known to be indiscriminate. She had tried her come-ons on Finn too, but he hadn't been interested, and she had even tried to get Mike at one point, despite Mike holding fast to his high school girlfriend Tina. Finn had lived it up more last fall, when he'd been a freshman, but even then he'd still known better than to add himself to Santana's extensive list, and by spring semester he had calmed down and gotten over the flattery of having girls throw themselves at him.

"Yes," the girl replied grimly. "I was informed in no uncertain terms about the signal and the protocol." Finn looked down the girls' hall, and sure enough there was a long sock hanging off the doorknob of Santana's room. Well, this girl's room too, at least when she was allowed in. The girl gestured at her blanket. "It's the third time already, so I've started to be prepared for when she shows up with whatever lowlife she picks up. It's bad enough that my apartment ceiling fell in, I don't know why there wasn't somewhere for me other than being forced to room with the queen of all the bitches and Neanderthals on this floor. And the RA is no help at all."

"You talked to the RA?" Finn was alarmed. Trying to get the RA to intervene in a roommate situation was usually a very bad idea, and their floor's RA was too involved with the athletics programs to want to make waves. "Look, complaining won't help, you don't want to piss off someone like Santana when she has access to your stuff and where you sleep at night." He saw her frown, again in a sort of sad pout that showed her frustration. And what she was talking about, it would suck, so he eased up. "Well, sometimes sleep at night, I guess," Finn joked tentatively, and he was relieved to see the girl's manner ease a little. She must be really tired, so he supposed he could let the 'Neanderthals' crack go, especially since it wasn't completely wrong when it came to some of his teammates. Clearly she hadn't made the connection between him living on this floor and who she knew lived there.

She yawned, stretching theatrically, then turned to the window. "What time is it?" she asked, looking at the grey sky.

"Seven."

She groaned, and flopped back down on the couch. "Last time the loser left at six so at least I could complete my morning ritual."

"Morning ritual?" Finn raised his eyebrows, skeptical.

She looked back at him, her face defensive. "Proper hygiene and hair and skin care is very important." She met his eyes again, then suddenly turned away, grabbing her pillow and facing the back of the couch. "As is proper rest."

Finn rolled his eyes, sensing the dismissal but not taking it personally. The girl was clearly very uncomfortable with what had been happening, and he couldn't really blame her. He went again to the elevator, then had an impulse and turned back. "How do you take your coffee?"

"Pardon?" She sat up again.

"Look, I have to go do my run, I'll be about forty minutes. But I always get coffee on the way back, can I get you some? I can make up a bit for waking you up, and give you a better welcome to the floor than you've gotten so far." It was kind of presumptuous, but he figured what the hell. He turned back to the elevator and pressed the down button again.

"That would be really nice of you, thank you," the girl said, sighing. "Soy milk, please." She got up from the couch and walked over to him. "And I'm so sorry, I didn't introduce myself." She put her hand out, and he took it to shake. "Rachel Berry, freshman theater arts major." She gave him a bright smile.

Theater arts, no wonder she was so obviously out of place on the jock and cheerleader floor. And she was theatrical, no way would that go over well with Santana. Now, though, she seemed very genuine, even relaxed despite it all. Someone worth getting to know better, maybe. The elevator arrived, and he gave her a nod and got in. "Finn Hudson, backup Neanderthal." She winced at his dig, but he smiled. "Hey, don't worry about it. See you in forty."

* * *

"It's the best way I've been woken up in the last two weeks," Rachel said to herself as she fell back onto the couch, pulling the blanket over her. _Damn, why couldn't I have thought of that in time to have said it?_

_Sounds cheesy._

_Provocative, even._

_Still, I should have said something._

_Don't be stupid. I'm overtired, surrounded by all these horrible people, one friendly face and I'm going gaga and thinking I should throw myself at him._

_He still seems really nice. And cute. Well, handsome, just look at him... but a football player? Really?_

_It's Stockholm Syndrome. I've been taken prisoner by the jocks and I haven't had a good night's sleep since the ceiling caved in and I'm falling for the first guy who offers me coffee._

_I am not falling for him. I have only exchanged a few words with him. And sung a little, all right, and he does have a nice voice. But I am not falling for him. No._

She turned back to her pillow, hoping to get a little more sleep before the floor became too noisy. A few minutes later another ping from the elevator jerked her back into wakefulness; a quick glance over showed that her roommate's lowlife-of-the-night was finally leaving, shooting her a leer as he did so. She sighed.

Hurriedly returning to her room, Rachel piled her pillow and blanket on her bed. She ignored Santana's lazy smirk, going instead for her toiletry bag – still apparently untampered – and heading to the shower. She would have to start taking her bag with her in future, she realized. And have a rape whistle, just in case one of Santana's "guests" or one of the less kind football players took advantage of her vulnerability sleeping in the lounge.

Once showered and moisturized, her hair washed and her legs shaved, she felt a lot more like herself. At least first thing there weren't many in the showers. She was drying her hair as Santana came in, apparently having enough self-respect to at least try to scrub the skank taint from her skin.

Back in her room alone, Rachel could finally relax. This didn't last long, though, when she noticed that her desk contents looked rearranged, the books and binders definitely not how she'd left them the night before. At least everything seemed to still be there, and her laptop was locked in her desk.

Deciding that it wouldn't hurt to know more about her obnoxious roommate, and anyway turnabout was fair play, she took a careful look at Santana's desk. The papers were strewn about in a way that suggested nobody would notice if a few were moved, but still Rachel lifted only a few pages, and very carefully too. She found some cheerleading stuff, and a few pages written by someone else in crayon, including a drawing of Santana herself that actually made the Latina look quite pretty. Under it she found a page of Brittany's name, written over and over in Santana's hand; this intrigued her, but also made her realize that she had better not be caught snooping, so she carefully put every page back the way it had been.

It was hard not to wonder about what she'd seen, and what it might mean about Santana, despite the girl's obvious promiscuity among men. Rachel was tempted to look again, but caught herself; Santana could be back at any time. So she determinedly turned her back on the tempting pile of papers, looking back at her own desk. To distract herself, and because also in the "it wouldn't hurt to know" category was a little more about the guy bringing her coffee, she took out her laptop and looked up information about the Wright State football team. And there in the team list: Finn Hudson, position QB. Quarterback. And she thought she'd had a hard time dealing with Santana and her sycophantic cheerleaders, she had now insulted the entire football team to its quarterback... well backup he said, and the stats reflected this, zero starts but some playing time, and a bunch of other columns that meant nothing to her. She hoped they were good.

At least the quarterbacks are supposed to be the smart ones, well smart-_er_ anyway. And she was already pretty much at the mercy of the people on her floor, so she didn't think he would drug the coffee or anything like that.

A knock at the door broke into her musings, and she snapped her laptop closed to hide this last of her snooping. And yes, there at the door was Finn, his face flushed.

"Hey."

She returned his smile. "Hi."

"Good to see you got back in."

"Yes." She giggled a little, self-conscious. "I suppose even Santana can't stand those losers once she's sober."

"Probably not." He held out a tall paper cup. "Your coffee. Soy milk, and I added a little nutmeg. Not sure why."

Rachel took the cup and sipped, enjoying the flavor combination (and she had to admit also the attention). "It's good. And the nutmeg is a nice touch. Thank you." She sipped again, pleased that he was lingering. "How was your run?"

"Ah – good, good." He shrugged. "Same old same old, really." He took a gulp of his own coffee. "Guess I'd better go clean the sweat off."

Rachel forced her eyes up to meet his again, away from where she'd been noticing that sweat had made his grey tee cling to his chest. "Thank you again, and I hope to see you around. Even when I haven't been shut out of my room."

"Sure thing. Welcome to McKinley 11."

Rachel watched Finn go, her mind diverted from her roommate troubles. Maybe living in this dorm wasn't quite the disaster she had thought.

* * *

_Please review!_


	2. Chapter 2

_A/N: I'm so gratified at the response I've received so far to this fic (and to my continuation of K2QSq). Your appreciation really lifts my spirits and helps me keep writing. Thank you all so very much. – HL_

_I chose Finn's alternate hometown in tribute to my other favorite fictional Ohio native, the detective Archie Goodwin._

* * *

Rachel saw Finn again in passing over the next few days. He always gave her a smile and a nod, sometimes even giving her a 'hey' or asking how she was doing. It was nice, he was nice, and it was good to actually feel a little less adrift. She was not used to anyone really making her feel like she might belong. She still knew she didn't, of course, but the effort was appreciated, and definitely the heart behind it too.

The spring came back to her step. And even though Santana could have kicked her out again at any time, Rachel slept better just knowing that Finn was out there. That she wasn't alone.

That spring turned into a full-on bounce one morning when Rachel arrived in the dining hall for breakfast and saw Finn waving her over to a table where he'd just put his tray down.

"Hey Rach," he said, giving her a charming half-smile that made her knees go weak. She quickly put her tray down opposite his, smiling back as she did her best to cover up her excitement at having a chance to talk to him again. That he was reaching out to her.

"Good morning, Finn," she enthused, sitting down. "Did your run go well?"

He grinned. "Yeah, it did. Intervals today." He glanced down at his breakfast, bacon and eggs, high protein. "It works up quite the appetite."

"I'm sure it does," Rachel agreed, not wanting to make him self-conscious. Certainly she was going for a very healthy option, oatmeal with a side bowl of fruit, but surely as an athlete he would be eating what was good for him, something approved. He must need to build muscle for football. She picked up her spoon, fishing some blueberries out of her fruit and mixing them into the oatmeal. "It's good that they have a range of options," she commented, starting to eat. "This isn't all that different from what I'm used to, at home."

Finn was starting on his breakfast too. "So where is home? You had an apartment, before, you said."

"Why yes." Rachel was happy that he'd remembered what she'd said when they'd met before, especially since she wasn't sure how coherent she had been at the time. "I did have a little place in town at first, but it turned out not to be in good shape." She flipped some errant strands of her hair back over her shoulder. "I'm from Lima."

"Really? Lima Ohio?" He laughed a little. "No way."

Rachel rolled her eyes. "You would believe Lima Peru perhaps?" she said archly.

"Well you are pretty exotic..." Finn teased back, then sobered. "Nah, it's just that I was born in Lima too. We moved when I was six, to live closer to my mom's family in Zanesville. A few years later she got together with Burt so Chillicothe became home. Been there ever since."

"Burt?" Rachel prompted, eating slowly as she listened.

"My stepdad. My dad died in Iraq when I was a baby."

"Oh, I'm sorry."

"It's okay. Sure I missed knowing him, but Burt's awesome. And I like Chillicothe, it's cool. Though I guess if I'd stayed in Lima I'd've known you already but – here we are after all."

Rachel gave him a smile, liking this response. "So what are you doing at Wright State? Other than football. Your program."

Finn blinked. "Uh..." He swallowed another bite.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to get nosy, or belittle football, just –"

"No, it's okay. I'm just not used to anyone caring what my program is, as soon as they hear 'football' that's all they latch onto. Or they assume I'm a Phys Ed or Communications major like most of the rest of the team."

"Incorrectly, I assume." She spooned out the last of her oatmeal, letting him talk.

"Yeah. I am in Education, but Middle." He downed his juice, then met her eyes again. "People are surprised, I guess, but I know football's not going to last forever, and I want to do more than stay in sports. And I used to help out at a day camp for kids, the last two summers of high school. I really like working with kids, getting them all excited about stuff." He smiled. "Everyone should have something they can get excited about, right?"

She beamed in return. "I couldn't agree more." They shared a look, and Rachel found herself more and more interested in this young man who clearly cared so much about others. Including, she hoped, herself.

"So you're in theater arts, huh?" Finn went on, changing the subject back to her. "That's not exactly a usual small-town Ohio thing. I mean, we have a good theater in Chillicothe, but it's rare. Nothing like that in Lima from what I've been told."

"I'm not exactly a typical person from Lima."

He looked into her eyes, giving her a personal smile. "You're not typical at all. It's good."

Rachel blushed, then met his eyes again, smiling in return. "Well my dads exposed me to the arts almost from the day I was born. It's always been my 'thing to get excited about'."

"Dads – plural?"

"Yes, I have two gay dads." She got a little defensive; not many people she'd met were used to her kind of family. She hoped this wasn't going to be a problem for Finn, since her dads were nonnegotiable. "I was born of love, they had to go to quite a lot of trouble to have me."

Finn shrugged, finishing the last of his breakfast. "Hey, I have no problem with that." He smiled again. "Glad they went to the trouble."

Rachel relaxed at this obvious appreciation. "I'm sorry, I don't mean to overreact – it's just I've had to deal with a lot of small-minded people. I don't see what someone's sexual orientation should matter to anyone else, unless you're interested in them yourself."

"Sounds right to me." Finn touched her hand in reassurance, and she felt electricity in even that light brief touch. Their eyes met again, and she thought she saw recognition of this in his face too. But he soon went on. "So why here for theater arts?" He caught Rachel's frown. "I mean, I would have thought you'd go to someplace fancy in New York. No offense, honestly, you just seem... better than this place. Um, not that there's anything wrong with this place."

She did like that she'd obviously made a good impression, but the reminder was still unfortunate. "Well I did want to get into a New York school. I just..." she sighed. "I didn't have the experience. Actual performing experience, that is, other than recitals. I have piles of training." She pouted. "Like you said, good theaters are rare in small-town Ohio. The Glee club in my school died due to lack of interest, there was really nobody to sing with, and no matter how much I worked on my auditions for what limited community theater we had..." she sighed again. "They just never seemed to appreciate what I can do."

"I'm sorry." By this time they had both moved their trays to the side, and he looked intently at her. "You okay?"

She flashed him a bright smile. "Yes, I'm fine. It's a new start. And the musical theater program here is very well thought of, even if not exactly renowned – _yet._" She punctuated that with a decisive nod.

"Yet? You mean once you come out of here it will be, right?" he teased, their mood lightening.

"Well yes." Rachel blushed. "And it was quite competitive to get in, even if not as hard as Tisch and NYADA. Plus there's an active local theater community, I've met a few of them already and they seem very friendly and open-minded."

"That's great."

"They have open auditions for _Les Miz_ in a few weeks and I should have a very good chance at Eponine. It's not a big part, but she has a solo." She beamed. "I've been singing it for _years_."

"That's the French Revolution one, right?"

"Why – yes." Rachel was surprised.

"Didn't expect a football player to know that, huh?" Finn chuckled.

"It's obvious I have had a very inadequate exposure to the right sort of football players." Listening to herself, Rachel blushed at her unwitting double-entendre with 'exposure'. Not that she wouldn't be possibly interested in experiencing the other sort of exposure... but it was rather soon to even imply anything of the kind. Especially as she was quite inexperienced with that. "Maybe I should come to a game sometime," she went on, trying to cover.

Finn simply smiled, not appearing to notice her slip. "Sure. We play on Saturdays, usually. Next game's a home one, against Valparaiso. Mostly I just sit on the bench, but the game's worth watching."

"I'll give it a try." Rachel's pocket buzzed, and she checked her phone. "Fifteen minutes to my acting class, sorry. It's over in Creative Arts."

"I have Sociology in Fawcett, that's most of the way there. I'll walk you." Finn rose, stacking her tray on his. "If you don't mind the company."

"I would love the company, that's very chivalrous of you." Rachel bounced up, but in her happy distracted state she didn't notice someone else was nearby until they collided.

"Whoops, sorry midget," came the familiar female voice.

Buoyed by her increased confidence, Rachel whirled to face Santana. "Apology accepted, thank you." She plastered a smile onto her face and held her hand out. "I've seen you around, haven't I? I'm Rachel Berry, I live in McKinley 11."

"I –" Santana frowned, discomfited, and Finn gave her a pointed look. "Why so do I," she ground out, her smile more of a disguised grimace. "Santana Lopez." She shook Rachel's hand briefly, regaining her composure, then gave a mean smirk. "You'll find everybody knows _me_. Even the Sasquatch behind you, or should I say _especially_." She gave Finn a wink and sauntered off.

"What was that?" Finn asked, his eyebrows raised.

Rachel groaned, flinging herself back into her chair. "I just thought maybe we'd gotten off on the wrong foot and we could start again." She had been happy, too, coming alive in her growing rapport with Finn. A rapport that she hoped was uncommon – or was it, with what Santana had implied? Was it just that she was new?

"Starting again with Santana just means giving her another chance to stick the knife in," Finn commented, rounding the table to sit down next to her.

"I can see that," she muttered, frowning, still taken aback by how easily her increased confidence had been shattered by the Latina cheerleader. She looked up, her face accusing. "Anyway, don't ask me 'what was that', what was that yourself? What did she mean by that?"

"'Sasquatch'?" Finn asked rhetorically, deflecting. "I don't know, it's not like I'm particularly hairy or anything. Not, uh, that she'd know. Unless the guys on the team told her or something."

"Not even 'especially'?" But Rachel breathed deeply, calming down. She didn't want to let her awful roommate damage the one good thing she'd found. "She's just trying to start trouble, I suppose. Probably hates that I have any friends at all."

"Well let's not let her start any more trouble," Finn suggested, and Rachel agreed. So they left the dining hall and walked companionably together over to Fawcett, Rachel managing to forget about Santana's meanness as she basked in Finn's attention.

She wasn't surprised, however, when that night Santana showed up at two in the morning with yet another loser in tow. Rachel simply gave the pair of them a smile, grabbed her things, and settled down in the lounge for the night. It even seemed to be getting more comfortable, and her sleep was less fitful.

The coffee she awoke to the next morning, presented with Finn's warm smile, made her interrupted night almost worth it.

* * *

_Please review!_


	3. Chapter 3

_Much thanks to all of you for your continued interest, and for your comments. It really keeps me going to see that my work is appreciated._

* * *

Rachel found it was hard to relax on nights when Santana was out. She wasn't sure whether she still feared being thrown out, or was starting to welcome it because she could see Finn in the morning, but either way she was anticipating it. One night, as it got later and later, with Santana still not in evidence, she eased her nerves a little by going for a walk down the hall to the lounge.

Everything was quiet. She noted that a couple of other doors had socks hanging from them, giving credence to Santana's claim that sexiling was normal, just a regular part of dorm life. Though the lounge was empty, nobody seemed to have nowhere else to go. A few moans as she passed by one marked door on her way back – Brittany's – certainly made her glad that she had left for all of Santana's prior sleepovers, it wasn't something she wanted to be subjected to any closer than that.

The next morning she woke up still alone, and decided that Santana must have been too far away to bring her latest conquest home. Assuming that nothing had happened to her of course – her behavior was certainly risky, Rachel decided, but surely nobody in their right mind would mess with her._ She must be all right, surely._ Despite the annoyance that dealing with Santana caused, and her potential for viciousness, Rachel still couldn't wish her harm.

She might even admit to being slightly relieved when she returned from her morning ablutions to find her roommate had returned. And was looking rested, even quite happy for Santana.

"Looking at something?" the other girl asked abrasively, as Rachel's eyes lingered on her a little too much.

"Just glad to see you're okay," Rachel said as she turned away. She heard what might be a snort, but did her best not to react.

Thinking it best not to stick around, she checked the time – and was gratified to see that, despite feeling like she had slept well, it was still only seven-thirty. _Finn should be finishing his run soon_, she thought, _and getting his coffee. It's time I returned the favor._

* * *

There was no mistaking Finn's face lighting up when he saw Rachel at the door of the coffee shop. "Hey," he said, coming over to her. "I didn't expect to see you here."

Rachel beamed back. "I was awake and I thought I'd see if you'd let me treat you for a change," she answered.

He flushed. "You don't have to do that."

"I know." She walked to the end of the ordering line, then turned to smile at him again. "I want to."

"Okay then," he gave in, joining her. "Sleep well?"

"I did. Even had the room to myself all night." She nudged him, moving closer. "I was almost sort-of worried about Santana. But she came back eventually."

He smiled at that, but pulled away. "Sorry, I need to get cleaned up." He sniffed a little. "I can't really tell but I'm sure I reek."

And she could smell sweat from his run, and it wasn't the greatest scent but... in some ways she found it exciting. Earthy. _Oh well, give the man his dignity._ She liked that he wanted to make a good impression.

The line moved quickly, so Rachel soon ordered their coffees, remembering what Finn had once mentioned about his, and then asked him about the upcoming football game as they waited. She admitted she had never been to a game, but wanted to give it a try.

"You can't sit too far down, though," Finn advised her as their coffees arrived. He escorted her back outside. "Well you _can_, but I don't recommend it. You won't see what's going on if you're right behind the bench, all you'll see is me sitting on it."

"You –" Rachel bit back her comment, but not soon enough.

"I play sometimes. If we have a good lead in the last few minutes and Coach wants to give Collinson a rest." He shrugged, and lowered his head closer to her as she fell into step next to him. "I might get more time in a few weeks, there're a couple of weaker teams we play later in the season. If we get our playoff position locked up early I might even get to start once, get experience in case I have to step in for Colly."

"Like being a Broadway understudy," Rachel said, understanding. "Having to be ready to step in at a moment's notice. And maybe having the occasional matinee."

Finn's demeanor eased. "Yeah, I guess it is like that."

"It's important, quite the responsibility," she continued, happy to have navigated the situation. "And this is in preparation, isn't it?"

"Sure. Colly's a senior, so I'm sort-of 'in training' for first string next year. It's not one of the big programs so they prep us that way."

"That's great."

"It's just hard sitting on the bench so much."

"Does it hurt?"

"Um, not really. Though sometimes I get a stiff back, sure. I meant it's kind of boring, waiting, though I help Coach sometimes. That's good experience too."

Rachel nodded. "So where should I sit, then?"

"I'll get you a ticket."

"You really don't need to do that," Rachel protested, though she was inwardly delighted at the offer.

"No, I want to. Easier than trying to explain, and the team gets special ones. I don't use them as much as the others, not yet anyway, so I'm way past due." He gave her another smile, kind, even a little intimate as their eyes met. "I really want to," he insisted softly.

There was no way she could possibly decline that. She was glad she had tried, though, with her heart warming further at his insistence on doing this for her. _And he's so adorable._ "Then of course. Thank you."

They talked further as they went back up to their floor, Rachel bidding him goodbye in the lounge before retrieving her books for the day from her room. Santana was nowhere in evidence.

As she waited at the elevator to go back down, another of the football players came up, a young Chinese man. "Hi there," he said.

"Hello." She gave him a smile.

"You're Rachel, right?" He smiled back. "I'm Mike, Finn's roommate."

Rachel nodded. She had seen Mike's name on the team listing – Mike Chang, Wide Receiver – especially once Finn had mentioned his name in passing. "Pleased to meet you."

Mike nodded. "Same here." The elevator arrived, and they entered and started to descend. "I'm sorry to hear you're having to deal with Santana," Mike went on, giving a sympathetic wince. "She's a piece of work. Rules the cheerleaders even without being official captain, and seems to make it a point of pride to try to bed the entire football team."

"Try?" Rachel's ears perked up at this.

"Well sure. We're not all musclebound morons. A few of us have steady girlfriends anyway, and besides that once you've seen her with everyone else I don't see what the charm would be." He laughed. "Just as well she's so obvious, like Finn says."

"Finn says?" Rachel did her best to keep her composure. "Is there some history there? I mean," she went on, tamping down her eagerness to know and rolling her eyes in a way that she hoped showed worldliness-with-a-touch-of-cynicism, "just about everyone else seems to have been through our room at some point."

Mike shrugged. "Maybe if she'd tried him right away, I don't know. She was really persistent, with each of us actually, but we kept refusing so eventually it started looking pathetic and she moved on down the hall. The name-calling hasn't stopped since. Especially for Finn since he doesn't have another girl as a 'lame excuse' like I do."

_No girlfriend._ Rachel filed that away happily as they left the elevator and parted ways. Though the implication that Finn hadn't had one last year either made her wonder a little, was he a I-only-play-the-field kind of guy? But no, he was so genuine. _He just wouldn't have a real girlfriend until he found the right girl_, she told herself. _And sure he would have been with a few girls but never someone like Santana._

* * *

On Saturday Rachel eagerly made her way to the place in the stands corresponding to the ticket Finn had given her the day before. She'd had an active dislike for football in high school, but she had to admit she had completely prejudged the game - along with basketball and hockey and basically everything else with status at her school – because the jocks she'd run into had all been so mean. Being assigned to a jock/cheer floor in the dorms had seemed like her worst nightmare coming true, she was now having to live with the same sort of people who had tormented her in high school. But things were easing; a few cheerleaders even gave her a smile sometimes, and knowing Finn was making her life so very much brighter.

Rachel found her seat and looked down at the field. It didn't seem that complicated, at least not the general idea of having to move the ball back and forth along the measured field. The rules seemed a lot more involved, though, and she hoped she wouldn't embarrass herself by saying the wrong thing.

"You must be Rachel." The small Chinese girl standing next to her was bubbly, and gave her a welcoming smile. "I'm Tina. Mike's girlfriend. He said you were probably coming."

"Oh, hi!" Rachel enthusiastically greeted Tina, happy to have someone to talk to. And to be expected, too – that was so thoughtful. She also rather liked that it meant Finn had been talking about her to his roommate again. They chatted a little, just the usual getting-to-know you things, with Rachel finding out that Tina was a senior in high school, there in Dayton. Then they joined in with the cheering crowd as the players took to the field.

Rachel easily found Finn by his height and build, though of course she had looked up his number. Mike was also easy to spot, but she let the exuberant Tina point him out anyway. They did have good seats, close to the middle of the field (_50 yard line_, she remembered from her research) with a little height so they could see the plays develop (or so Tina told her).

In the first half Rachel watched the game, for the most part, prompted by Tina's commentary. The other girl didn't get too technical, fortunately, and Rachel was happy to join in with her celebration when Mike scored. Her eyes kept straying back to the bench, though, looking at Finn's broad number-5-clad back. He did help out his coach, from time to time, looking over some binder they had mostly. Once he got up to fetch something, and she winced as she saw his body jerk a little. Sitting around was clearly harder on him physically than he had wanted to let her believe. Well her daddy was very tall too, and had back trouble sometimes, she understood the issues a bit and... maybe she could help. Rachel blushed a little at the thought, because helping Finn with his back would be very unlike how she sometimes assisted her daddy.

As the players returned after the half-time break, Rachel was happy to see Finn more active, throwing the ball with one of the other players. "Oh, is he going to play?" she asked Tina.

"Just getting a few throws in, I think. It's far too early, and look there's Colly." Tina pointed to where the player wearing 6 was also warming up again.

"Oh, right."

"You like him, don't you?" Tina nudged Rachel. "You like Finn."

Rachel demurred, doing her best to hide her blush. "He's a very nice person."

"Nice. Uh-huh." Tina giggled. "Don't worry, I won't tell." But she let Rachel ignore this, and switched to talking about the community theater group that was putting on _Les Miz_. The group had a good reputation for their productions, apparently, and it was well worth Rachel trying her best to get a part. They then settled down to watch as the game resumed.

Rachel's attention strayed to Finn even more in the second half, with the on-field activities looking pretty much the same as each other despite Tina's helpful descriptions. Finally the game finished with a score of 24-18. Rachel had no idea if that was good other than the obvious fact that they had won; the crowd and the team seemed very happy.

Tina was definitely happy, bidding her a quick warm goodbye before making her way down to the field to hug and kiss Mike. Rachel followed behind partway, but this was clearly a 'girlfriend' thing, with other players getting similar greetings. She wouldn't know what to do if approaching Finn now, and anyway he was helping the coach again, this time with the equipment. So she settled for giving him a smile and wave, and headed back to the dorms. She would see him again soon, if not that day then the next morning.

As the evening wore on, she certainly looked very much forward to seeing Finn again, and the sooner the better really. It was even getting to the point where she welcomed Santana's return with her loser-of-the-night, quickly grabbing her things (well organized ahead of time) and setting up to spend another night on the couch. She still rolled her eyes at them, of course, but once she was on her own in the lounge, she looked down the boys' hallway with an anticipatory smile. Finn was so attentive those mornings after she had been kicked out, and she really liked spending the extra time with him. Soon, hopefully, they could move beyond using these excuses to be together. He was so kind, so considerate – Rachel found herself blushing as her thoughts went to how attentive and sensitive a lover he surely would be. _He's so strong but so gentle... and with the way his hands cradled the football... mmm._ Rachel drifted off to some very sweet – and rather hot – dreams.

* * *

She awoke the next morning at hearing a door close, somewhere midway down the boys' hall. She smiled a little as she heard it, the cue now familiar. _Finn must be going for his run early._ She had noticed he had been going earlier some days, fancying that it was so they could have more time together afterwards. She certainly liked when they could have breakfast together, especially once when it was early enough that the dining hall wasn't crowded and they had some space just for themselves.

She glanced down the hall – but no, the shape she saw was a man too short to be Finn. Rachel lay back down, intent on going back to sleep, but became suddenly alert at what she heard next.

"Make sure you visit soon, Finn honey."

_Finn __honey__?_ Rachel looked at the slim man that had called that out, as he made his way down the hall towards her. He was coming from Finn's room, Rachel realized. He had stayed there overnight, and he called Finn 'honey', and was leaving very early... and, from the looks of him and how he was dressed and held himself, his careful coif (even at that time of day) and his chic shirt and colored jeans, he certainly seemed gay.

_Oh no._

"Oh." His voice startled her, and she realized she had been staring, her mind racing. She blinked and did her best to return his smile. "Hello there," he continued, coming towards her. He gave her a sympathetic look. "Roommate kick you out?"

_And he's even nice. Dammit._ "Yes," she mustered as a reply, giving a small shrug that she hoped covered her dismay and her internal turmoil.

He nodded to her. "Kurt Hummel."

"Rachel Berry."

"Come here often?" he asked archly, a warm smile on his face.

Rachel giggled a little despite her discomfiture. "Often enough."

"Perhaps we'll meet again then. Sorry for disturbing you." He nodded again and went to the elevator, which came mercifully quickly. All the better to leave Rachel alone with her dashed hopes.

She had thought Finn was interested in her, she truly had. Not just as a friend, but romantically. Certainly she was very interested in him, enough to have started thinking that maybe the night would come when Santana could happily have their room to herself because Rachel would have somewhere else to spend it, somewhere much more welcoming. Not too soon but – well this was college, time to grow up and be mature about things, and she was extremely attracted to the sweet tall backup quarterback. And she wanted to start exploring her new mature college self with him.

But now all the details coalesced into something far different than what she had been expecting. Finn's sensitivity, his interest in her program, how he'd known about _Les Miz_... even his little stylish touch with the nutmeg in her coffee. How he'd befriended her, especially after finding out about her dads, but made excuses not to get too close. What Mike had said about him avoiding Santana's come-ons despite not having a girlfriend. And of course he wouldn't be open about it, not a football player.

Rachel groaned. Naturally she knew of the theories that girls who were close to their daddies often fell for a similar man. She had just expected that to mean "tall, charming, kind, nice voice" rather than _gay_.

* * *

_Please review!_


	4. Chapter 4

_Hey! Sorry for the delay, this chapter has been recalcitrant, and eventually required splitting for pacing reasons. The good news is that means the chapter after it is almost ready too. Thank you so much for all the reviews and for your continued appreciation of my work, it means more than I can express._

_Disclaimer: I do not own Glee, its characters, or WSU. I do own the plot and my words._

* * *

Rachel lay there for a while, her turmoil preventing her from returning to sleep. It also distracted her from noticing anything other than her own churned thoughts and feelings, so that the first she knew that Finn was indeed going out for his morning run, more than half an hour later, was his quiet "hey" coming from next to her. She started.

"You okay?" Finn asked softly, concerned. "You can relax, it's me." He came closer, gently resting his hand on her outstretched foot. She blinked up at him, pained. He frowned. "You're not okay," he said, his voice stiffening. "Did someone bother you? I know I should've –"

"No." Rachel sat up, touching his hand, trying to ease his mind while she covered up her own distress. Trying, too, to ignore the electricity she felt from his touch. "Nothing happened. Just a bad dream."

"Yeah?" He wasn't quite buying it, she could tell. "Nobody was here?"

"No," she said, stumbling her way into the lie.

His exhale in relief was noticeable. "Good." But his eyes lingered on her, still. She couldn't read the emotion in them, her confusion too great. "So what was it?" he asked, sitting in the chair next to her.

"Ah – what was what?"

"Your dream. Uh, I mean if you want to talk about it, it's okay if you don't. Of course it's okay. Just, you could tell me, if you wanted to." He finished with his eyes softly locked on hers. "I'd listen."

Rachel was sure she could hear her heart break in the silence that followed. "I – I don't really remember it," she stammered out. _Better that than make something up._ "It was, just, you know... unsettling." She pulled herself together. "Probably just nerves," she said, sitting straighter. "The _Les Miz_ auditions are in a few days and I'm worried that my intermittently interrupted sleep is bad for my immune system and will compromise my voice." That at least was true. And while the couch in the lounge was getting more comfortable it was also getting less hygienic.

"Oh... yeah, that sounds bad." Finn paused. "Anything special I could bring back for you? Tea with honey or something, help you ward off the germs."

"That sounds lovely, thank you. And thank you again for yesterday, I had a good time."

"Yesterday?"

"The game. Thank you for the ticket. I'm sure it'll be even better when you're playing, but it was fun to watch. And I enjoyed meeting and spending time with Tina." She'd rehearsed that before, when it had been more of a future-double-date hint, but it spilled off her tongue even now.

Finn grinned. "That's great. And sure, no problem. Any time, if you want to go again."

He leaned in briefly, close enough that she could feel his breath on her cheek; it was just for a moment, though. She flinched involuntarily, and anyway he was leaning away again.

"I'd, uh, better go." He stood. "Tea, right? And you're sure you're okay?"

"Yes. Quite sure."

"Okay. You'd let me know, though, right? If anyone bothered you?"

"Of course." She watched him go to the elevator. "Thank you," she called after him as the door closed behind him. Then, alone again, she sighed and flopped back down. It had been almost painful, how sweet and solicitous he had been. And worried if she'd been bothered – well, that was kind, but of course there was more behind it as well.

_He's wondering if I know,_ she reasoned. _If I saw Kurt. Naturally he's uncomfortable._

She wanted to retreat so badly, to pull back into herself and forget the sweet young man together with the hopes she'd had for them. Or tell him she knew. But no, she was her fathers' daughter. She knew how important it was for gay men and women to be accepted, to not have those around them pressure them to come out or treat them differently once their sexuality is known. _Supportive. I have to be supportive._

She was Finn's friend, and she needed to stand by him, no matter how much that hurt.

* * *

Supporting Finn by being his friend, when she really wanted much more, turned out to very difficult for Rachel. She couldn't help pulling away a bit at first, unsure how she should act, not wanting to meet his dark amber eyes directly for fear she would sink into them and be lost. But she could tell he was concerned when he'd returned with her tea, and even hurt by her continued distance, so over the next few days she made a significant effort to seek him out, reassure him that she was still his friend.

She was glad to see Finn brighten when he opened his dorm room door one late afternoon, clearly happy to see her. He smiled even more when he heard her suggestion that they head down for dinner.

"I wasn't that impressed by the look of the listed specials but I'm sure they'll be better with company," she said. She could certainly use the company herself to take her mind of her _Les Miz_ audition the next day, and spending time with Finn was a guaranteed boost to her self-esteem. Even knowing his preferences, she still felt her spirits lift whenever she saw his smile or heard his voice.

"Uh, yeah, sure! Just give me a few minutes, I'm kind of..." he led her into his room, where he had apparently been studying. "I'm not getting much of anywhere with Spanish drill anyway, I could use the break." He stacked his study cards on top of his open textbook, then turned to give her a smile. "And the company."

"Great." Rachel covertly looked around the room as Finn put his shoes on. The place did look pretty decent, for a jock dorm room. Mike's bed and desk lay opposite, made obvious by the pictures of Tina. All very neat, with a stack of Biology and Chemistry texts on the desk; Mike was in pre-med, she remembered Tina telling her, so Finn was lucky in having a studious roommate. Finn's own area was more messy, but she noted touches of style in his bedding and the accessories on his desk. She didn't know much about those things herself, but she was sure she'd seen the lamp and desk set in a magazine somewhere. They looked more comfortable on Finn's desk however, more used.

She was trying to be subtle in looking around, but apparently in vain. "Sorry about the mess," Finn said as he straightened.

She met his sheepish look with an encouraging smile. "This isn't messy," she answered, not coloring the truth that much. It wasn't, not really, not compared to Santana's side of her room and especially not compared to the glimpses she had seen of some of the other rooms down that hall. His standards must simply be very high, she told herself. Maybe he even kept it a bit more casual as part of his disguise. But no, the place looked like him, felt like him. "It's not like you were expecting anyone."

"Maybe I should." He paused. "Uh, anyway, dinner. Let's go." With that he escorted her from his room, and accompanied her down to the dining hall.

They chatted further as they ate, her filling him in on how her day had gone, him explaining why he was taking Spanish.

"I'm not planning to teach it, not really, but you never know. Might have to sub, anyway." He took another forkful of his meatloaf. "And some of the kids could know Spanish, and, y'know, use it."

"Use it? In other classes?" Rachel sat across from him, eating her vegetarian lasagna, enjoying their rapport. She liked how easy Finn was to talk to, even with what he was hiding.

"Not for classes. Just – insults, that sort of thing. Things can get out of hand if kids start talking and the teacher can't understand them. Or they think they can mouth off."

Rachel giggled. "But surely they're not teaching you _that_ type of vocabulary in Spanish class."

Finn laughed in return. "Well no. But it should help anyway. And the more I can teach the better off I'll be, I figure, more able to get a job where I want to be."

"Where's that?" Rachel was curious. This was the first she'd heard Finn say anything about wanting to be anywhere.

He shrugged. "I don't know. They need teachers everywhere, right? And that's good, it means I can pick where I want to be for other reasons than just where I can work. People, or whatever."

_People_, she thought. _Like a specific person._ She looked over at him, seeing his eyes cast down at his tray, apparently finding the texture of his remaining meatloaf very interesting. _But of course he would want that, if he could. And it would be so amazing, not just to have someone like him but also to be able to stay together because he could come with me to New York –_ Rachel shook her head sharply, trying to jar herself out of that scenario. _Him.__ Kurt. It would be great for Finn to be able to go with him, to wherever he needed to be._

"You okay?" Finn's attention was back on her, attracted by her movement.

"Yes," she said, flashing a smile and picking up her last forkful of pasta. "I just thought I saw someone I knew. From, ah, the theater group." Rachel grasped for something to use as cover. "But no, that's not him."

"Oh, okay."

"He doesn't go here. I was surprised." She continued on.

"But now not so surprised. Since it's not him."

"Yes." She nodded. "So when's the next football game?" She changed the subject quickly, and they talked quietly for a bit longer as they finished their respective meals.

They went back up to their floor once they had finished dessert.

"Guess it's back to Spanish drill," Finn said as they exited the elevator. "This was great, I really needed the break. And the company. Thank you." He lingered with Rachel in the lounge, and she was reluctant to walk away. Her room was empty, Santana supposedly meeting with her study group on another floor.

"I could help you," she offered, before she even knew she was saying it. "With drill, anyway. I don't know much Spanish, but I can pronounce it, and I could check your answers." She bit her lip, aware that she was being far pushier than she had intended. "If that would help," she finished.

"Yeah, it really would," Finn replied enthusiastically, his grin wide and his eyes warm. "That would be great, Rach. As long as I'm not keeping you from anything."

"No, I'd love to help," she insisted, walking with him back to his room. "I have time, I got my work out of the way before my audition."

"But that's tomorrow, don't you need to prep? Or rest up?"

"I'm completely prepared. You'd be doing me a favor actually, it'll help me take my mind off it so I don't stress about it."

"All right. But only for a couple of hours, I know you need your rest." He showed her into his room, escorting her to make herself comfortable on his desk chair while he sat on his bed.

_I'm just being a good friend_, she told herself as she took the study cards from him, still feeling the echo of his hand on the small of her back, where it had been just moments before. _I'm helping him._ But deep down she knew that she wanted to get closer to him, even though it would only lead to frustration and future pain. She couldn't stop herself, Finn was simply very comfortable to be around, and too attractive for her to resist.

* * *

Finn walked out of Spanish the next day feeling very good about what he'd been able to do on the test. He'd been able to focus really well on his drill the night before, a bit surprising since he'd thought Rachel would be a distraction. And having her in his room, yes he'd been self-conscious at first, and then he'd liked how comfortable she seemed to be. And he'd be lying to himself if he claimed he hadn't wanted the circumstances to be different, for her to be sitting next to him so he could smell her hair, maybe feel the touch of her hand or the smooth line of her legs pressed to his, but...

Finn caught himself as he realized he'd daydreamed his way past the stairwell and halfway down the next hall. Again. He didn't have his class-change autopilot down yet, and once his mind was on Rachel he didn't think about lame stuff like where he was supposed to go next or anything like that.

Just as well she'd stayed in the chair as she drilled him the night before. And her focus had helped his, he'd found it very easy to go along with the energy and intensity she was putting into it, and he figured his brain had pulled some extra abilities out of nowhere to impress her. She was serious, and when he was with her he was more serious too. He certainly wasn't going to get distracted or fidget when she was helping him, and his back had behaved itself, the spasm gone for now. Then on the test itself, he'd kept hearing her lovely voice in his mind, reading out similar passages and helping him remember. It had relaxed and focused him on the test, as if her energy was still with him in the memory of her voice.

Finn hoped he would see Rachel again that night, to thank her and see how her audition went, but no such luck. He got up early for his run the next morning, but the lounge was empty, and he shook his head at his disappointment. _Dumbass. Her not getting sexiled is a good thing._ But he did really enjoy their early-morning meetings and bringing her coffee, and how her face lit up to see him. He liked the personal private connection that they had developed, and most especially he liked _her_.

The following morning, with the lounge still empty, he got coffee for her anyway and went to her room. It was time to stop hiding behind excuses, he figured.

Santana answered the door, opening it only a crack, and she rolled her eyes when she saw him. "Looking for your little pocket pal, Jolly Green?"

Finn did his best to suppress a frown as he bent down to talk quietly to Santana. "Is Rachel up yet?"

"Depends what you mean by up." Santana flung the door open, revealing Rachel sitting at her bed, then flicked her hair into Finn's lowered face as she turned to saunter back to her own bed.

Rachel's face lit up as she saw Finn. She was still dressed for sleep, wearing a pink tank top and cute pink shorts covered in lambs, and her hair was adorably messy. He thought she might be embarrassed to have him see her like this, since she was usually more covered up when she slept in the lounge, but apparently not. He did his best to not stare at her chest, though the material was thin and tight so... _yeah_.

"Hey," he said, holding out the coffee. "Haven't seen you in a while." He sidestepped as Santana brushed past him, headed for the shower. Santana was wearing some sort of slinky number, but he barely noticed, Rachel having an easy monopoly on his attention. _Nipples. Uh... Eyes. That's better. But her legs... man. Gorgeous._

Those gorgeous tanned legs, and the rest of Rachel, came quickly over to him. "Thanks," she said, taking the proffered coffee. He shifted his attention quickly back to her face, relieved that she didn't seem to have noticed how blatantly he'd been checking her out. Or at least she didn't mind at all, because he didn't think he'd been at all subtle. She sipped. "It's hard to feel like I've earned it, I've been able to stay in my own bed these last few nights," she went on, giggling a little. "Though please don't let Santana know, it might encourage her."

"Oh you deserve it."

She smiled. "Thank you." She sipped again, still seemingly quite unselfconscious about being scantily dressed in front of him. He liked that. "How did your Spanish test go?" she asked.

"It's not back yet but I think I did really well. I remembered a lot from our study session, you really helped. How was your audition?"

Rachel preened a little. "Well I haven't heard back about that yet either, and there were a few others, but I'm confident I had them beat." She beamed. "It's so exciting, I could have a featured role in a real production soon."

Finn did his best to not focus on how her excited movements – moderated presumably to avoid spilling her coffee – were bouncing her breasts. _Oh yeah. Awesome, Rach._ He suddenly became aware of his own clothes, still the thin shorts and sweaty shirt from his run. Not that she ever minded but... he was feeling a little exposed, given his thoughts. "I'd better go shower," he said. "But I want to hear more later, if you're around tonight?"

"Sure."

"Great."

They saw each other again that night, at dinner in the cafeteria, and Finn was glad to hear how well her audition had gone. He was even happier at how they were comfortable again together and talking to each other; things had been a little stiff for a few days but they were better than ever. And he couldn't tear his mind off how he'd seen her that morning, hair tousled, legs exposed by her shorts, her tight tank top providing a lot of direction to his imagination. As she talked and ate, he found his attention drawn increasingly to her lips, looking so plump and soft, so perfectly kissable.

He'd never met a girl like Rachel before. He couldn't have, there weren't any others like her. The girls he'd known before had been nothing, sure they had been pretty and fun to be around, but not like this where the rest of the world faded away. Listening to the beautiful peal of her laughter at one of his lame jokes, seeing her shining smile, Finn thought he might never want to meet another girl again.

* * *

_Please review!_


	5. Chapter 5

_A/N: Wow, over 100 reviews! Much thanks and love to you all, your feedback really keeps me going._  
_We're getting to the halfway point, since I anticipate about 10-12 chapters total._

_The lyrics from Les Miserables were written by Herbert Kretzmer._

* * *

A couple of days later Finn was having breakfast when Rachel came up to him, clearly brimming with energy.

"I got the call last night!" she enthused.

"You got the part?" Finn was thrilled, this was great news.

"A callback. They've narrowed it down to two of us, the director said. But it's so exciting! And I have an excellent chance, I just need to make sure that I'm thoroughly prepared."

"What do you have to do? Can I help?"

"Well, they've already heard me sing the solo, so they want the other key moment – the death scene. I'd need to do it with the actor they've already cast as Marius." She gave him a hopeful smile. "You could help me practice that, if you like. Running lines."

"The _death_ scene?" Finn was a little stunned. Sure he'd heard of the musical, thanks to Kurt he was familiar with the major ones, but he hadn't realized Rachel was going to die in it.

"Sure, it makes sense they'd want to see if I can handle it, it's so touching when done properly." She looked back at him, apparently concerned about his pause. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to push for you to –"

"I'd love to help. Really."

"Great!" She beamed at him again, the uncomfortable moment evaporating.

"When's the callback?"

"Not for a couple of weeks. The director has to go away on business apparently." She shrugged. "So they let us know, me and whoever the other girl is, and at least that means I have time to prepare the scene. Thank you so much for helping, it's going to be such an asset for me to be able to rehearse."

"Hey, no problem." Privately Finn wondered if it was a "dying in the man's arms" death scene. He hoped it was.

* * *

_And you will keep me safe  
And you will keep me close  
And rain will make the flowers grow_

Sitting on his bed, with his arm around Rachel as she sang her character's dying words, Finn was finding rehearsing both amazing and very difficult.

Amazing, because he loved having her with him like that, held close, her hand on his face, the words of caring and faith coming from her lips, sung in her beautiful voice. Difficult, because he had to exercise immense self-control not to pull her even closer, kiss her, throw aside the "if I could close your wounds with words of love" bull that the man had as lines and simply say how he was feeling. The way she was looking at him, such love in her eyes... _Acting_, he reminded himself. _It's what she's supposed to do for the part._

Deep down he hoped she wasn't all that good an actress, that there was something real behind it.

"Finn?" The scene over, Rachel sat up and looked at him. He blinked hard, bringing himself out of his fantasy. "That was great," she chirped. "Don't you think so? Was I convincing?"

"Uh, yeah," he answered. _Too convincing._

"I've never seen anyone die, and I know it's for the stage but I don't want to be too overdramatic."

_Oh, that._ "No, you were good," Finn said. Not that he'd been thinking about whether she looked like she was dying, quite the opposite really.

"Thank you." She stretched, then pushed to the back of the bed, her legs crossed. Finn did his best to not stare at her bare thighs, exposed by how her skirt was riding up. She idly pulled a pillow into her lap, then leaned on it and yawned.

"Are you getting enough sleep?" Finn asked. He knew she'd been kicked out again a couple of nights before, and maybe last night as well.

"Mostly." She stifled another yawn, and pouted. "But that's now, who knows what will happen between now and then. At least I'm supposed to be a dying resistance fighter, if I look tired I can claim it's 'method' or something like that. But I have to be able to sing."

"How's your throat?" This was a big concern, it would suck if after all this preparation her big chance was screwed up thanks to Santana.

"A tickle sometimes. I suppose it could just be my imagination, I'm worried, but – " Rachel clutched the pillow in her lap, getting increasingly agitated. "I can't let Santana know, she'll get worse. She's just doing it to be mean. Last night it was even someone who lives on our floor!"

"He didn't go back to his room?"

"No!" She threw the pillow over at him in disgust, though he caught it easily. "Not until morning. Then I opened my eyes to find him leering down at me, telling me he had more left if I wanted it. Of course I keep my rape whistle close, even if he did leave right away."

Finn didn't like the sound of this at all. He caught her hand, suddenly very serious. "Who was it?" he asked, looking at her intently. "You know if anyone hurts you I'll –"

"Big guy, dark hair, round face. I think she called him Dave. And he was just trying to scare me," Rachel protested. "I was fine."

"Karofsky," Finn gritted out. "He's on the O-line. I'll talk to him."

"I don't want to cause any problems for you with your teammates," Rachel pleaded, looking pained. She gripped his hand in return, stroking the back of it with her thumb, clearly trying to pacify him."It was nothing, really. I wasn't in any danger."

"It's okay. He's an asshole anyway. And the whole team needs to know that they shouldn't mess with you – " he swallowed. "Uh, if anything bad happened it would be really bad for the team, even the idiots should get that." And if anyone did anything to Rachel, he would make it very bad for whoever did it, to hell with the team if they wouldn't support him on that. He'd lost sight of how vulnerable she was, especially out there in the lounge; he needed to protect her, keep her sheltered and comforted like she asked in the song only better. They'd back off if she was his girlfriend, of course, and he wanted that anyway, but he wanted her to want that too, not just for protection but because she wanted to be with him. "Mostly they're not that bad, sometimes it's just that the jackasses drown out the rest, and there's more of them on this floor. I'll talk to them." He squeezed her hand. "It's not any trouble, honestly. Coach always says it's better to head off problems before they happen anyway."

"It won't cause trouble for you?" She looked so concerned, though he couldn't see why.

"No, no way," he reassured her. "The team wants to have a good image, not the dumb swaggering jock crap. Some just haven't gotten over themselves yet and still think every girl is a football groupie. They'll settle down." _Or else,_ he vowed to himself. He was supposed to be the team leader-in-training anyway, it was time he made use of that.

She snorted. "There's a few around who think they're God's gift but they certainly aren't what I've been holding out for." Her lip curled in disdain. "That one definitely isn't."

_'Holding out for'? Does that mean what I think it does?_ Finn wondered, looking away so she wouldn't see his surprise at this information. _Wow._ The girls he'd been with before had all been experienced, even back in high school. Not Santana-level of experienced, of course, but not their first time either. And now Rachel was telling him... _she must want me to know to take it slow,_ he decided. _I can do that._ And being with that amazing girl, taking care of her and making her his in a way nobody else ever had – that was worth taking time to get right.

It was tricky though. He was definitely okay with the friends-first thing, especially with her and the way he felt their connection developing, but it was a fine line between being friends first and getting stuck in the friend zone permanently. And she was so vulnerable, not having anyone she could count on other than himself, he really didn't want her to feel like she had to worry about him doing anything that she didn't like. Or that she should pull away or anything like that.

He really didn't want her to pull away.

"At least she wouldn't have been comfortable either," Rachel went on. "He's huge. Or she made him sleep on the floor." She shuddered. "Or in my bed, I'm definitely changing the sheets tonight."

Finn smiled, starting to relax again. "Good idea." Still, he'd better make sure the team knew she was off-limits. And make some progress on letting her know she could count on him, for any way she wanted to be taken care of. He squeezed her hand again, more gently this time. "I'm here," he said, echoing one of the lines he'd said earlier.

She smiled, a little wistfully it seemed. "I know. Thank you." She pulled her hands back and clapped them together, her attitude brightening. She stood. "And this was a wonderful rehearsal. I'll need to run it a couple more times closer to the audition day, but even by itself this was a big help. Thank you so very much."

"Uh... my pleasure," he said, getting up as well. He stretched, then jerked suddenly with a wince as his back spasmed. "Fuck. Uh, sorry..."

"Your back?" Rachel asked solicitously. She had gone towards the door, making to leave, but at this she returned.

"Yeah, the muscle just... I don't know. Been having trouble, it's getting worse."

"May I...?" She came up to him and lightly touched his lower back. "My daddy has back spasms too, I know what to do."

"Uh... yeah, sure." And he felt her hands on him, small and sure, rubbing his spasming muscles. "Oh that's good," he moaned lightly, turning away to let her work – and to cover just how good it felt to have her take care of him like that.

"Sit down," she ordered, gesturing him back to his bed. Once he was sitting, she climbed behind him and resumed her attentions, one hand splayed across his chest for traction, the other kneading into the back muscle. And she was strong, it felt _so good_... He moaned again, not entirely for the same reason. His back was relaxing all right. Part of his front was not. Not that he could be blamed for that, especially after having her in his arms for the rehearsal. Now she was basically draped around him, and it was all he could do to stop himself from turning around and grabbing her. Which would be extremely bad for his back in addition to probably scaring her off.

_She's just trying to help and ohhh... it does. But she smells so good and she feels __so good__... and I want her so bad... fuck. _He tried very hard not to think about how her skirt had completely ridden up and how her groin was starting to press into his ass._ God, Rachel. What do you want from me? These signals are seriously mixed._

_Still, _he reassured himself as he wrested himself back under control,_ between her legs, even like this, this can't be the friend zone. She's not a tease. I just have to not come on too strong. Somehow._

Finn felt her disengage, and he did his best to smile at her as she clambered back onto the floor. He could barely talk, but he thanked her – his back really was much better – though he stayed sitting and watched her go, his hands clasped in his lap to disguise the hard-on that grew even more as his eyes lingered on her pert ass. _This is really fucking hard to take slow. But if that's what she needs... _He sighed.

_But even 'slow' means progress, right? Hudson, get your shit together and ask her out._

* * *

Rachel lay awake in her bed that night. Santana was already asleep, so at least she didn't have to worry there. Instead of sleeping, she kept replaying her evening with Finn and how good it had felt to get so close to him, to feel his body pressed against to hers. To hear him moan at her touch, even though it was only from having his muscles eased.

It had started out with only a little inappropriate advantage-taking, playing the scene and "dying" in his arms. She had rationalized that it would help, sure he was quite a bit bigger than the man cast as Marius but the situation with Finn made it easy for her to get into the role, play that girl deeply in love with an unattainable man. After all, she was doing the same thing as Eponine was, expressing her feelings in the guise of devoted friendship. And yes she'd gotten carried away, letting herself flow with the scene, caressing his face and looking deeply into his eyes. It had felt so good to follow her heart, even while acting. And maybe if she had stopped there, but – being close to Finn was addictive, she'd wanted more and grabbed the chance when she could.

She knew she'd taken such a liberty giving him a backrub, crawling all over him even. Yes it was the same sort of thing she had sometimes done for her daddy when he'd had back spasms, but how she had done it for Finn was entirely different, she couldn't fool herself on that. But he'd let her, and he'd felt so good, she'd even managed to forget for a few moments that it wasn't real, it couldn't be real, he couldn't be hers. _He's gay. He has a boyfriend._ She had so wanted to keep going, press her head into his shoulder, lean up to kiss his neck and that oh-so-enticing pulse point under his jaw, splay her hand on his stomach a little lower, lower still. She almost had, but she'd been able to stop at the last moment, pull back to reality, knowing that trying anything would damage things between them irreparably, embarrassing herself and pressuring and humiliating Finn. _I can't. I mustn't, no matter how much I want to, how much I want __him__. It would be completely wrong to treat him that way._ As it was, she had come very close to taking advantage of his closeted state. A little make-believe was okay, she allowed, and she had eased his back spasm, but actual physical advances were way over the line.

It wasn't like Finn had been leading her on, not really. Everything was kept friendly, despite the close personal contact. Sure there were a few times when she'd wondered if he was wanting to kiss her but – obviously that had just been her imagination. And she got why he stayed closeted, being on the football team and all. The locker room might not quite be the last bastion of aggressive heterosexual masculinity, but it was close, and team cohesiveness was clearly a concern.

She would have thought he could trust her, they were so comfortable together, and he knew about her dads, but oh well. Until then she could dream a little, enjoy the fantasy that he could be hers, that this tall strong sensitive young man would one day be her lover, someone she could share her heart and body and soul with. The man she'd waited for. Such a wonderful fantasy, as long as she remembered that it could only ever be a fantasy.

* * *

_Please review!_


	6. Chapter 6

_Much thanks to the Pastry Shoppe for listing "Sexiled" on their "Through the Oven Door" list of fics that are baking. Thanks for the rec! And thank you to all who read and reviewed, it makes a big difference to know you're out there. Love you all._

* * *

A few days later Rachel returned to the dorm floor after dinner to find Finn sitting on the arm of the couch, apparently waiting. He stood and approached her.

"Rachel – could I please talk to you for a few minutes?" Finn asked, stress evident on his face despite his warm smile. Clearly he'd been waiting for her, and he had something important to say.

She nodded and let him escort her to his room. _He's going to tell me_, she realized. _He trusts me and he's going to come out to me now._ While intellectually she appreciated the importance of this step for Finn, and liked that she had done the right thing in supporting him and earning his trust, emotionally she was disappointed, knowing that her fantasy was about to crumble. _I have to smile_, she thought, bracing herself for the truth even as her heart twisted inside her. _I can't let it show how much this hurts._

Once in his room, he turned to face her again, giving her that beautiful smile that always trapped her heart. "I don't mean to make this all abrupt, I just haven't seen much of you the last few days," he said softly. "Things going well?"

"Yes," she answered, nodding, trying not to look like a deer in the headlights as she wished he'd just get on with it. "Uh, things are normal. Mostly sleeping in my own bed, perhaps that's why I haven't seen you in the mornings."

"No it's me, my schedule's been different. Homecoming is a really big week, there's already a lot going on." Finn took a deep breath. "So... Saturday night after the game, there's the big Homecoming dance, a party. Live band, the whole nine yards. And I wondered if you'd like to go with me. I don't really dance well, but it'd be fun, and everyone brings dates. I'd, uh, really like you to be mine."

_His – his __date__? To the dance? __That's__ what he wants to talk to me about?_ It wasn't what she had expected at all. Rachel let herself imagine it for a moment, going to the dance with Finn, being on his arm, dancing with him, having him hold her close... but she shook her head sharply, bringing herself out of the fantasy. _This isn't healthy_, she told herself. _I can't go that far, not when I know it can't be real. I have to stop doing this._

"We wouldn't have to stay late, I know you have your big audition the next afternoon. But it'd be fun, at least it would if you were there with me."

Rachel brought herself back under control, and summoned courage for what she knew she had to say. She hadn't wanted to pressure him to tell her, she knew that was wrong, but she simply couldn't keep up her part of the charade any longer. "I – I'm sorry, Finn. I would enjoy it, I know I would, but..." she looked at him, and he was so adorable, his handsome face falling as he understood the refusal that was coming. _Oh, if only._ "I'm flattered, really, and I can see why you wouldn't want the others on the team to know, but I'm not really comfortable pretending like that."

"Pretending?"

"For what it's worth you do hide it really well, I mean it's sad that you have to, but I always thought my gaydar was good and you didn't trigger it at all."

Finn stared, his jaw open. "_Gaydar?_ You – you think I'm gay?"

"Well, uh..." Rachel started to stammer. She hadn't expected him to deny it so directly, though he must be very used to doing that, she supposed.

"I'm not gay."

"It's okay, really, you know I don't have a problem with it, my dads –"

"It's not a problem. I'm just not." He looked intently at her. "Really, seriously, not."

"You're not?" Rachel's voice was small. Maybe that's why she hadn't thought he was, before, but... "But I met your boyfriend. Kurt, I met him the other week when he was leaving your dorm room."

"Kurt –" Finn frowned deeply, and she took another step back, very self-conscious. "I am going to kill him," he ground out harshly. "Did he tell you that's what he was? My – my _boyfriend_?" His voice was hushed, but agitated.

"No, but, well, he's obviously gay and he was leaving your room early in the morning." Rachel felt nauseous, her stomach churning. Was he or wasn't he? And while she had thought he was – oh god, she had taken so many liberties, parading around hardly dressed... getting close, touching him... telling him very personal things about her... _Oh God._

"He had to get back to his college in Columbus. He was in town for some music thing and needed a place to crash. Mike was off with Tina and let him use his bed." Finn paused, still looking at her seriously, and her stomach flipped again. "Kurt's my _brother_."

"Your brother? But – Kurt _Hummel_."

"Stepbrother. He's Burt's son. And yes, he's gay, but I'm not."

"Your stepbrother calls you 'honey'?"

Finn gritted his teeth. "No, but my mom does, and Kurt likes to give her messages verbatim. He thinks it's _cute_."

"Oh." Rachel clutched her hand over her mouth as she recoiled further back, aghast at the whole thing, her assumptions, what she had done, how she had acted, her accusation. "I am so, so sorry," she gasped out. "I should never have assumed."

"It's okay," Finn said, taking a step in her direction, but she was almost too embarrassed to notice. "Really."

"Thank you. But, um – I think I should go now. We can talk more later." Deep in her mortification, Rachel couldn't get out of there fast enough. Ignored in all of this was Finn's invitation to the dance.

* * *

Finn sat on his bed, in shock. He'd thought about a few possible reactions from Rachel to his overture, but never _that_. He'd been so sure she was interested, that if he covered the bases well about her audition and wasn't too aggressive she would say yes. Even if he'd gotten some sort of I-don't-know, or what-about-our-friendship, or it's-too-fast, those he could have done something with: let her think about it, offer alternative first date options, or (his favorite) get closer and give her a little demonstration of how well they could connect as more-than-friends. Just touching her hand was electric, a kiss should have been spectacular.

But her obvious surprise and "I thought you were gay"? He had no comeback for that, it made no sense at all. Seriously, had she not noticed any of how much she had turned him on? He'd tried to hide his hard-on when she'd rubbed his back, but the rest of his reaction should have been obvious. She had been all over him and he had liked it very very much. Not just that she'd been all over him but that she'd wanted to, it had been so hot.

_Yeah, she did all that when she thought you were gay, _Finn told himself. _It wasn't that she was interested._

He'd been hoping that all of that had meant that she wanted to jump him, sure he was willing to be patient if she needed that, make sure it was real and develop a relationship and yeah she was inexperienced... but that it was going that way. That she was into him too. And now, even aside from not getting her, he sure as hell didn't know where he went wrong, yes he'd been going for "nice guy I can trust" but definitely "hot _virile_ nice guy who _wants me_ and I can trust to _rock my world_". Not so nice that she would think he couldn't possibly be interested. Even with her saying he hid it really well, so he hadn't come across as gay, though she'd still thought he was anyway because of Kurt...

_Kurt. What the hell happened there?_

At least that he could find out. Finn pulled his phone out and called his stepbrother.

"And to what do I owe the honor, brother mine?" Kurt's voice came cheerily after a few rings.

_Honor, huh?_ "Nice cockblock, bro. Thanks a lot," Finn snarled.

"Excuse me? What in the name of Alexander McQueen are you talking about?"

Finn took a deep breath, calming himself. It wasn't really Kurt's fault, from what little he'd been able to make sense of what Rachel had said. "Sorry," he said. "I'm just – on edge."

"Cockblocked, I guess you would be," Kurt joked. "TMI, though."

"Sorry."

"So what happened, and what does it have to do with me?" Kurt seemed to be in a good mood, fortunately.

"Just – there's this girl," Finn started lamely. The impulse to call Kurt had been strong, but really he had no idea how to explain what was going on, he didn't get it himself.

"Obviously."

"Well she didn't think it was obvious at all. I've spent a lot of time with her and I'm really into her, but she didn't see any of that, she thought I was into guys. Specifically _you_."

"She _what_?"

"She thought I was gay, you idiot. Because of you, when you crashed here."

"But I hardly saw anyone, just a girl in the lounge... _oh_."

"That was her."

"Ah... Rachel, is it?" Kurt asked tentatively.

"Yes."

"She seemed nice."

"She _is_." Finn groaned. "And I thought we were getting really close, but it turns out that for the last two weeks she's been thinking I was gay, so it wasn't what I thought at all."

"Close like how?"

"She's been hanging out in my room, sitting close... hugs... telling me things about herself..." Finn wasn't comfortable even thinking about this, much less telling Kurt over the phone. He hated that he now had to reinterpret all of it, and he felt so pathetic at remembering how he'd felt then, thinking that it meant she liked him. That she wanted him. "And she, ah, rubbed my back." He'd gotten aroused at that, how she'd been all over him and was taking care of him, and she hadn't meant it that way at all. _Fuck._

"How is your back?" Kurt segued into concern.

"Okay right now. But don't change the subject. I thought I was getting somewhere and now it turns out I wasn't, thanks to you."

"How was I supposed to know there was a girl you were interested in? Let alone one who sleeps in the lounge? You don't tell me enough about what's going on with you."

"And you know why. I'm not interested in having you and Mom bug me about girls, and you always do. I was doing just fine getting to know Rachel until you had to go all 'honey' on me, or I thought I was."

"Hmm." Kurt sighed. "Sorry."

"And now I don't know what to think."

"Your self-control must have been incredible, if that's any consolation."

"No, that _isn't_," Finn grumbled. _Maybe a little, but I'm not telling Kurt that._

"But seriously, to think you were gay? Does she not know any gay men?"

"Her dads, actually."

"Oh..." Kurt paused. "She's _that_ Berry."

"Hah. So much for 'no we don't all know each other'," Finn retorted, though at least maybe this meant he could get some inside info about her family.

"'We' don't. And I don't know them. But they're major gay activists in the state, so I have heard of them. I just didn't expect to randomly run into their daughter in the lounge of my brother's dorm."

"Huh."

"They're pioneers for gay rights, especially in Ohio," Kurt went on, starting to lecture. "It made a big difference that they stayed and pushed for things to get better here, even having a family and working out all the issues surrounding that, instead of moving to somewhere more progressive. There's still a long way to go but –"

"Getting off-topic here, Kurt," Finn interrupted. Sure it was nice to know Rachel's dads had helped make things better for people like his brother, but it didn't help him right now.

"I wasn't aware we had established a topic."

"The topic is to figure out what I can do now. About Rachel."

"Ah. Because you still like her. Even though she thought you were gay."

"_Yes_, damn it." Finn gritted out, then his voice quieted. "I do really like her okay? She's amazing. Even though I don't get how she could miss that I was into her."

"Maybe she was overcompensating. And she wouldn't expect the stereotype like others might. Anyone could be gay, and most of the time nobody should care."

"Unless you're interested in them yourself..." Finn trailed off, remembering Rachel saying that.

"Basically."

"She told me that. Before, when we were just getting to know each other." Finn pursed his lips, thinking, replaying events in his mind. "But she sure acted different when she found out... it _mattered_ to her, Kurt. It did."

"So she was interested. Or she's a hypocrite."

"I really don't think she's a hypocrite. You met her, she's nice right?"

"I met her for less than a minute. But sure, she seemed nice, even getting woken up early after having to spend the night on the couch." Kurt snorted. "At least you won't have to worry about her not fitting in with the family. What's her major?"

"Musical Theater. She's got some callback for _Les Miz_ here in Dayton."

"Ooh, _really_." Kurt was clearly intrigued.

"And that's another reason why I didn't tell you about her."

"Why, because a real gay man would be far more interesting than a fake one, and she'd completely drop you once she met me?" Kurt's tone was airy. "I kid, I kid. Still, she must be thinking about a future on Broadway!"

"Yes, Mister Fashion-Is-My-Destiny, she does plan to move to New York. Like you. And maybe me. But could you please back off on the wedding planning until after I've at least been able to successfully ask her out? I don't want to scare her off." _Any more_, he thought. _Fuck. _Because while how well she could fit with his family and possible life wasn't why he was attracted to her, it did raise the stakes so much higher. And he really didn't want to have to wait until ten-years-later in New York City before he could get a second chance. _Second chance? Hell, how about a first one._

"You've unsuccessfully asked her out?"

"Asked her to the Homecoming dance. I figured it was pretty likely 'cause we were getting really close, but she thought I meant as my beard so it fell apart at that point."

"Oh. Awkward."

"No kidding."

"But she knows now so..." Kurt trailed off.

"I'm just so confused, I don't know what any of it means any more! I mean, sometimes her signals were kind of mixed, and I guess I get why now, but – _aargh_."

"Details, Finn, I need details. Not to pry, to help. Honest."

Finn groaned, but he could see his brother's point. He quickly filled Kurt in on how comfortable Rachel had been around him, especially at their rehearsal. He didn't give details about his reaction to her, but Kurt could probably guess that anyway. "And now I don't know why she'd do all that if she wasn't into me. It's not something a girl does with just a friend, is it? Even a gay friend?" He paused, hoping that Kurt at least would know something about this last possibility. "Kurt?"

"Hmm." Kurt considered the situation. "Well, it sounds like she was hagging on you."

"Hagging?"

"Being a fag hag? Where she likes you but she knows she can get close without any risk to her because it can't really go anywhere."

"Just great," Finn grumbled. "And now that she knows it can?"

"Well what did she do?"

"Backed away like she was terrified." He didn't want to remember that, didn't want to see it, didn't want to know that she didn't really want him. Or was scared of him.

"That's not good."

"Damn it, Kurt!" Yes he'd wanted Rachel to feel safe with him, but not like that, not in a nothing-could-ever-happen way. But he didn't want to scare her either and _dammit there should be more options than this!_

"Look, calm down. At least she liked you. _Likes._ At least she likes you."

"When she thought I was gay."

"She likes you in the abstract. The Finn Hudson concept. You just have to show her that the real Finn Hudson, the one she can have, is worth the risk."

Finn absorbed this, easing. Maybe he could salvage the situation after all.

* * *

_Please review!_


End file.
